The Team Under the Red Hood
by GLEVIRIC05602
Summary: December 25th 2016, Christmas day, six months after Wally's death, and two years after Jason Todd's death. But did the second Robin stay dead?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey people! GLEVIRIC05602 here! Sorry for delaying this for so long, but as the character Riven was not my character I felt it disrespectful to use her in this story. However I do know that this story would be something highly requested (not necessarily requested from me) but I think Jason Todd needs to be included in Young Justice, whether it be as Robin or Red Hood. Enjoy!**

It was a cold and gloomy night, in an unknown location. The date was December 25th 2014, Christmas day. But that didn't matter, at least not to Jason Todd, the second Robin. The boy wonder laid on the ground of an unknown warehouse, bruised and bloody with his arms tied behind his back and his legs tied together. But even without the restraints he wouldn't be able to move as he was too weak from the torcher inflicted on him, by the Joker.

'Rise and shine boy blunder!' An almost demonic voice echoed through the warehouse, and Robin weakly turned his head. The white face, the green hair, the orange, purple and green suit, and the smile. That corrupted, evil smile. It was him, the Joker. 'You look a little dehydrated. Need some water?' The crown prince of crime offered, pushing a glass towards the Boy Wonder, and he went to drink from the glass. But as the Joker began laughing he instantly regretted his decision, as the clown pulled the glass back and smashed it on the ground before using what was left of it to cut Robin's cheek, 'You really are an idiot. At least the first boy wonder had his happy-go-lucky tone. You're just a sad sack of shit, twerp.' He insulted, leading the young boy to mumble something.

'Drink this.' He stated, and Joker raised an eyebrow. Robin raised his head towards his enemy and spat a mouthful of blood on his face.

'Now that, was just rude!' Joker shouted as he slammed Robin's head into the concrete ground, breaking his nose with ease. The clown then stood up, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, and wiping the blood from his face.

'Joker! We do not have much time. They will be here soon.' A male voice called out, as Psimon revealed himself leading the Joker to groan and roll his eyes.

'Let me have my fun, Brainy!' He shouted at the psychic, who gritted his teeth at the annoying nickname.

'You would be wise to not call Psimon that, clown. Now finish up, the teenagers are less than ten miles away.' He ordered, before walking away from the sociopath.

'Well, bird boy. Looks like our little fun session has come to an end.' Joker said sadly as he stared Robin dead in the eye, a saddened look on his face, 'Oh well.' He commented, his demonic smile returning as he pulled out one of his signature pocket knives and lodged it right in Robin's side. The boy wonder's screams of pain echoed through the building, and outside in the snow stood Psimon, Count Vertigo, The Riddler, Devastation and Queen Bee, who heard the teen's screams.

'How long until the children arrive?' Queen Bee questioned, attempting to drown out the screaming with her voice, and for a moment Psimon stayed quiet.

'Psimon can sense a strong psychic being coming this way, fast. Psimon says we have a few minutes left.' He concluded, and Queen Bee gave a simple nod in response.

'Where is Joker? We must leave this place now.' Queen bee questioned her followers, just as the door to the warehouse swung open and out stepped the clown.

'Right here!' He said confidently as he walked over to the group, 'What's say we blow this joint? We'll go out for beers! First round's on me.'

'As much as I'd love to sit down and have a cold one, we don't have time.' Devastation responded to the clown's suggestion, and he pouted to the answer he received.

'Come, my friends, we must leave.' Queen Bee ordered the group as the sound of a turbine filled the air as the helicopter behind them began to activate.

'So, Jokester, did you kill the kid?' Riddler asked as he and Joker took their seats in the helicopter.

'Oh no, not yet, I've got something much bigger planned for his death. Plus a couple of the other sidekicks.' The clown confirmed, leading Riddler to smile at the comment from the clown.

'I've got a fix on Robin's location.' Miss Martian confirmed as she held a hand to the side of her head, causing her eyes to glow green. Each of the heroes in the bio-ship looked to her for her explanation; Superboy, Nightwing, Kid Flash, Artemis, Rocket, Zatanna, Aqualad, Batgirl and Bumblebee.

'Where?' Nightwing demanded to know as he stared bluntly at Miss Martian, who looked in slight fear of the emotional outburst from Nightwing, but then again, someone he considered his little brother was kidnapped.

'A warehouse. It's in sight.' She stated, and everyone turned to the window to see themselves coming up on what looked to be an old abandoned warehouse.

'Not how I expected Christmas to go.' Kid Flash stated with a glum look on his face, leading Artemis to grip his hand. Nightwing and Batgirl stood up and walked towards the ramp of the bio-ship, where their mentor; Batman stood quiet.

'Joker couldn't have done this alone. My sources indicate that he was hired by Ra's al Ghul to steel those experimental drugs from Ace Chemicals.' Batman explained to his protégés.

'Meaning Ra's is behind all of this? Doesn't seem like his style.' Batgirl stated to the Dark Knight, who shook his head.

'I confronted Ra's and he claims that after things got out of hand with Joker he was simply tossed aside, and someone else took over.' He confirmed leading Nightwing and Batgirl to turn to each other, then back to Batman.

'Did he say who?' Nightwing asked, although Batman shook his head in response.

'I was ambushed before the conversation could go any further. But he also told me the country where Jason is being held. Which brings us here.' Batman concluded and the two gave a singular nod in response.

' _We've arrived_.' Miss Martian said through the psychic link she enabled with everyone. The three heroes returned to the bridge of the bio-ship as it landed just next to the old warehouse, allowing them to see Queen Bee's helicopter fly away at top speed.

'Robin's inside, I'm adding him to the link now.' Miss Martian explained as she used her powers to search for her ally's mind, eventually locating it.

' _Robin, can you hear us?_ ' She thought, and for a moment there was nothing but silence over the link.

' _What took you guys so long? I've been rotting in here for days._ ' Robin's voice rang through their heads, and the group all let out sighs of relief.

'Follow the chopper, Nightwing, Batgirl, the two of you and I will-' Batman was cut off, as the warehouse erupted into a ball of flames knocking the bio-ship back a few dozen meters, and rattling everyone around it in the process. The ship eventually stopped tumbling and the team all stumbled to their feet.

'Is everyone alright?' Aqualad asked as he walked over the now upside-down bio-ship.

'That hurt.' Kid Flash groaned as he rubbed the back of his head, and Aqualad let out a sigh of relief to see everyone in one piece.

'You can say that again.' Bumblebee confirmed the speedster as she rubbed her side.

'Miss Martian, what happened to Robin?!' Batman asked in a fearful tone as he got on his knee in front of the Martian, while Superboy helped her up.

'The connection…it was severed.' She stated, and even under his mask, she could see Batman's eyes widen. The dark knight quickly ran to the back of the ship and climbed out the broken ramp.

'Batman wait!' Nightwing called as he and Batgirl followed their mentor. The caped crusader raced into the rubble of the warehouse without any regard for the fires around him, looking around for a sign of Robin's survival. Then he saw it, a torn piece of fabric with Robin's signature R on it.

'No.' Batman denied as he raced over and began removing all the rubble from the area next to the symbol, eventually finding something. Robin's body. 'Robin.' Batman stated, as he picked up the bruised, bloody and burnt body of his former protégé just as Nightwing and Batgirl caught up.

'Oh my god.' Batgirl said in shock as she covered her mouth.

'Jason…' Nightwing was almost lost for words from the shock. Batman stood up, cradling Robin in his arms and began walking back to the Bio-ship. Miss Martian used her telekinesis to flip the Bio-ship back upright as everyone else recovered from the tumbling, there being minimal casualties apart from Artemis cutting the side of her head.

'Wally, I'm fine.' Artemis said to her boyfriend as he cleaned up her wound with a spare first aid kit that Zatanna had brought along with them.

'You won't be if you keep squirming. Relax babe.' Kid flash requested, before the group spotted Batman, Nightwing and Batgirl walking back from the now burning warehouse.

'Is Robin-' Rocket began but cut herself off at the sight of Robins body in Batman's arms. Nightwing dragged himself to follow his mentor, but stopped as they arrived at the Bio-ship. Zatanna noticed his sudden stop, and walked over to him.

'Nightwing?' She questioned him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

'He's gone.' He concluded and everyone looked to him with eyes wide, 'Robin's dead.'

'Dick…' Zatanna whispered his name, before embracing him in a hug in an attempt to comfort him. Batman laid Robin's body on a small platform that the Bio-ship had formed, and simply stared at him.

'I'm sorry Jason. I failed you.' Batman mumbled as he grasped his former protégé's hand.

'Bruce, we did the best we could.' Batgirl tried to encourage her mentor as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

'Sometimes, our best isn't good enough.' He commented, not even turning to look at her. Without another word Batgirl retreated to the bridge of the ship, allowing Batman to mourn in silence.

Ra's al Ghul stood in a room made of almost total metal if not for the large computer monitors in front of him, his green cloak brushing slightly against the cold metal floor beneath his feet. The screens in front his him suddenly came to life and showed the faces of six individuals; Queen Bee, Lex Luthor, The Brain, Ocean Master, Klarion and Vandal Savage.

'We have successfully secured the needed supplements from the Joker's raid of ACE chemicals. Although His kidnapping of Robin was unplanned, messy, random, useless.' Ra's Al Ghul stated to the individuals before him, hoping to win over their judgement.

'Agreed. Ra's did not want this blood on his hands so I offered to take over that half of the operation. However I believed he would have left Robin alive, and not blown him up.' Queen Bee agreed with her ally.

'The Joker is a loose cannon, incapable of following the simplest orders, proof that he unworthy of the Light.' Luthor placed his opinion on the matter.

'I agree. Robin's place amongst the children was a valuable asset, and one that we could have exploited if he lived. Although it seems that asset has been eliminated.' Vandal explained to his comrades leading into a long silence from the group.

'Perhaps not.' Ra's stated, and in response Vandal merely raised an eyebrow, 'As you all know I have walked this world for decades thanks to the Lazarus Pit.' He continued, leading the Light to listen to his proposition, intriguingly 'While its abilities involve healing wounds and reverse aging, it has also been known to restore the dead.' He concluded.

'Are you proposing we restore Robin's life?' Black Manta questioned.

'Resurrecting what we have tried so hard to kill for years?' Lex added.

'While Robin's death causes us no trouble, his death will cause problems.' Vandal came to his conclusion, 'I vote on Robin's restoration.'

'Any objections?' Ra's asked his teammates, and the group stayed silent for a few moments.

'I believe we have come to our conclusion.' Klarion stated, 'Let's bring back the boy wonder!' He said demonically.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey people! GLEVIRIC05602 here! Coming in with chapter 2 of this story! I'm not sure how often I'm going to upload chapters of this story but I'm going to try and make it as frequent as possible, but I do have a lot on my plate outside of writing at the moment so I'm not sure. Reviews are much appreciated!**

Nightwing raced across the top of a building in Bludhaven, his breath heavy and the stakes high as he raced to catch up to a blue muscle car that was racing through the streets.

'Phoenix, give me an interception point.' Nightwing mumbled into his com, and back at Nightwing's base of operations sat a man seemingly in his early twenties, wearing a black t-shirt and brown cargo pants, while his hair was short and blonde, and his eyes were a dark purple. He sat at an immensely complex computer with a headset on.

'There's a road block up ahead and by the time this guy gets to it the left side will be blocked meaning he'll have to go right onto seventh, if he stays the course you can cut him off on the intersection of seventh and Maul.' The man, known by his codename as Phoenix stated to his partner.

'On it. How far off is the bike?' Nightwing confirmed as he took a detour.

'You mean the Nightmobile?' Phoenix questioned with a sly grin as he pinpointed the location of Nightwing's motorcycle, which he had left behind at the scene of the crime.

'I'm not calling it that, Bailey.' Nightwing denied, leading Phoenix to sigh and shake his head.

'It's catching up, should be there just after you intercept the target.' Phoenix confirmed his partner as he tracked the movements of the target, Nightwing and the Nightmobile. 'But maybe if you actually took it instead of just leaving it to go on foot you'd have caught this guy already and I could go home.'

'It was a split second decision! Don't blame me for it if I went to get the bike I would've lost him.' Nightwing defended himself as he reached the edge of the building he was sent to. A few moments passed before Nightwing saw a pair of headlights race through the others.

'Just catch this guy and bring him in. I'm supposed to be on a date in…five minutes ago.' Phoenix explained as he checked his watch, before returning to the computer monitors. 'I'm overwhelmed with this stuff.'

'Why isn't anybody just whelmed?' The vigilante quoted himself, before he shot a grappling hook onto a nearby building. He latched on and dropped down onto the roof of the car, making a large dent as he did so. Gunshots sounded as bullets came flying through the roof of the car and around Nightwing, almost hitting him at certain points.

'Nightwing there's an end he's going to have to turn.' Phoenix explained to his partner, although as Nightwing looked up to the road ahead he became distracted. There was one last gunshot and Nightwing felt a jolt of pain in his left leg. The car quickly skidded to the left and the vigilante was thrown off the side and into the side of a building. 'Dick!' Phoenix called as he sat up from his chair in worry.

'I'm alright.' Nightwing responded as he got back to his feet, only to fall back down in pain. The adrenalin rush had worn off and the pain in his left knee came along with it.

'Your vitals say different. Get back to HQ as soon as possible so I can patch you up.' Phoenix requested his partner, 'Again.' He added, leading Nightwing to roll his eyes. The hero used a nearby phone booth to get to his feet, civilians staring in awe at the legendary Nightwing.

'Phoenix, where's the bike?' Nightwing asked, although his answer came in the form of a futuristic looking, blue and black motorcycle that was driving itself. 'Thank you.' He expressed, limping towards the vehicle. He carefully mounted the bike and allowed Phoenix to pilot it for him, as his leg couldn't use the foot throttle.

'I'm bringing you back, now.' He ordered his friend as the bike began to speed away from the populated area.

'Bailey I can-'

'No buts. Think like a tactician. Fall back and regroup.' Phoenix suggested to his friend, who reluctantly stayed silent. Saying, in his own way, that he agreed. Nightwing paid little attention to the drive back to his hideout, his focus remaining on the bullet hole in his leg. As Bailey Pennyworth heard the sound of an engine come into earshot, he backed away from his computer setup whilst pressing a button to open up the garage door that encased the former secret lair of the Team. Nightwing's motorbike slowly entered and parked itself on the wall next to the Zeta tube. 'Let's take a look at that wound.' Bailey explained as he helped his partner onto the medical bed located on the other side of the room.

'It's just a flesh wound.' Dick greased off the injury as he removed his mask, allowing Bailey to inspect.

'You know when I joined your crusade I thought I'd like my grandpa was to Bruce. Guess I was right. Cos I feel less like your partner and more like your butler.' The man stated as he examined Dick's bullet hole, referencing his grandfather, Alfred Pennyworth. 'It's pretty bad. You'll probably be off your feet for a while.' He returned to his professionalism, simultaneously grabbing the tools required to stitch up the wound and remove the bullet.

'How long is a while?' Dick asked, and Bailey stared at him with a look of sympathy in his eyes. 'Bailey, we don't get vacations! If I'm not going to be able to protect Bludhaven who will?!' Dick shouted, although his focus was redirected when the Zeta tube mere meters from them activated.

'They will.' Bailey said simply, as four individuals entered the room; Batgirl, Superboy, Robin and Zatanna.

'You called them?' Dick asked in a scolding tone, leading Bailey to shoot him a dirty look.

'He called us because he knew you were injured.' Batgirl explained as the four heroes walked over to their ally.

'And that means you can't stop someone that you're already overwhelmed with.' Zatanna added, placing a hand on Dick's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

'I'm not overwhelmed.' He denied his on and off lover.

'Right, you're just whelmed.' Superboy said slyly, smirking with an eyebrow raised.

'You guys can sort this out. I've got a date to be late to.' Bailey explained as he grabbed his jacket from his chair and began walking towards the door.

'When you're not busy, we could use your help on this one.' Batgirl requested, in a tone suggesting that she wanted him to stay, he turned back around and the two looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.

'Yeah, when I'm free.' He responded, and hastily made his way away from the group. Batgirl let out a soft sigh as he left, and Superboy looked to her with sympathy in his eyes.

'Let's get back to the matter at hand.' Robin suggested to the group, leading them all to turn back to Dick, 'Who's this criminal you're after?' For a moment Dick stayed quiet, deciding whether or not to let his friends assist him, but eventually giving in to their judgmental looks.

'He's a mercenary. Batman was tracking him through Gotham but he fled and came here after all his clients were taken down.' He explained to the group, limping over to the computer to show them all the information gathered on the man he was hunting.

'Clients?' Zatanna questioned the word after Dick said it.

'He offers protection to mob bosses such as Don Maroni and Darmine Falcone,' He explained, pulling up files on the wide list of mob bosses that worked in both Bludhaven and Gotham, 'Protection from the police, and the League.'

'What do we know about this guy?' Batgirl asked, leading Dick to take a deep breath.

'Not a lot.' He stated, and pulled up the file on the mercenary, 'Real name: unknown. Age: unknown. Previous known locations before Gotham: unknown. All we have on this guy is a video and an alias.' Dick concluded as he pulled up a video of the mercenary cutting what looked to be Batman's grappling line, which was wrapping around his leg. The man wore mostly black clothing, apart from a dark brown jacket, and a red helmet looking object covering his face. 'The Red Hood.'

'The Red Hood? Isn't that what Joker used to go by before he, you know,' Superboy implied and the group looked to him, 'fell into that tub of acid?' He concluded.

'That's what Batman thought, so he questioned Joker but turns out he isn't behind it.' Dick responded to the theory.

'Wait so, are we looking at a copycat?' Robin suggested.

'Can't be. When Joker was The Red Hood he had a different MO, he preferred to make a show than a buck. Judging by this new guy he's looking to do something. I mean, why set up protection for a mob boss if you can't go through with it?' Batgirl made her theory.

'That's what we've been trying to figure out.' Dick answered. Bailey raced through the streets of Bludhaven, rain dropping down slowly from the sky and hitting all around him. His focus was straight as the restaurant he was meant to be at came into sight, and his spirits were lifted. He ran out the front to look into the window, but inside sat no one. Waiters were standing around calmly awaiting the arrival of somebody, but there were no customers inside.

'Nice going, Bailey.' He mumbled to himself. The partner of Nightwing began walking away from the restaurant with his hopes a lot lower. He made his way towards an apartment building and entered without a word to the staff inside. He hastily walked to the elevator on the other side of the first floor and pressed the button. It eventually arrived and he entered alone, before pressing the very top button. The elevator doors closed and bailey leaned his head on the side of the elevator. Another date that he missed. 'This is going to end things between us.' He mumbled, before the door opened and he walked out and made his way to the very last room in the hallway. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door, inside all the lights were off and it was mostly dark, except for a few candles located on his small dining table. Bailey looked in confusion at the dining setup on his table and walked over to it. Without warning a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind, and he was left slightly surprised.

'Merry Christmas.' A female voice whispered seductively into his ear, and he sighed happily and turned around. Before him stood a beautiful woman wearing a blue dress.

'You scared me for a moment.' He commented, before he leaned in and brushed his lips against her own.

'Well I knew how busy you were with Nightwing and that new mercenary so I cancelled out plans at the restaurant and decided to give you a bit of an early Christmas present.' She explained as he arms wrapped around his neck.

'An early Christmas present three days before Christmas? Just my luck.' Bailey stated as he wrapped his arms around her waist. 'Karen Starr,' He said her name softly and she smiled, 'my beautiful, Kryptonian girlfriend.' He commented and she smiled.

'You had to state my race?' She questioned and he shrugged.

'I like to think about the fact that I'm dating an alien superhero from another dimension.' He explained, leading her to smile once more. The two pulled each other closer and their lips met once more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey people! GLEVIRIC0502 here! Just a quick introduction this time as I don't want to delay the reading of this story. Just quickly for those who didn't know, Karen Starr is NOT an original character. If you look it up she's actually a version of Supergirl from earth 2 known as Powergirl. However Bailey IS an original character and yes there was some chemistry between him and Barbara which will play out later. Enough of my rambling! Enjoy and please rate/review/follow! (Also just quickly this chapter will come from the Red Hood's point of view)**

Date: November 11 2016  
Time: 20:32  
Location: Belle Reve penitentiary

Count Vertigo sat silent in his cell. It had been years since he was locked up in Belle Reve for the second time. No one had come for him and it seemed that the Light had been beaten, meaning he was never going to get broken out. But the count had figured that out long ago, he had been plotting for years against the Light, the league. But nothing made his blood boil more than Kid Flash, the delinquent that had locked him up twice. That boy infuriated him beyond comprehension, he wanted revenge.

As he sat on his bed with his fists rolled up, the thought of strangling the life out of Kid Flash gave him purpose. But suddenly, as he sat alone, the lights in the entire prison went out. Voices could be heard all around the prison, questioning what had happened.

'Guards, what is going on?!' The Count questioned as he raced to his prison bars, unable to see anything due to the darkness. No one responded, instead he was greeted by the sound of grunting and quick movements. The lights slowly flickered back on, and what stood before Count Vertigo's cell startled him back into his cell.

'Hello, Count.' The man greeted as the cell door opened, and the Red Hood stepped inside with a pistol in hand.

'WH-who are you?' Vertigo questioned as he backed up against the wall, fear sprawled over his face and sweat running down his cheeks. Red Hood didn't respond and merely grabbed Vertigo by the collar of his prison uniform, holding him up against the wall.

'I only have one question for you,' he stated as he placed the pistol against the Count's forehead and leaned in close, 'where, is, the Light?'

'I-I don't know!' Count vertigo answered, although Red Hood remained unconvinced, and moved the gun to his chin, 'I swear I'm telling the truth!' He admitted, and for a moment Red Hood simply stared him in the eyes. Then, in one swift motion, he released the Count and dropped him to the ground.

'Too bad, I thought you had some information for me. Looks like my revenge comes early.' Red Hood concluded, leading the Count to look up in fear.

'What do you mean,' he questioned as Red Hood kneeled down next to him, 'revenge?' He concluded.

'You really think I died that night?' He questioned, sending fear throughout the Count's entire body.

'Who the hell are you?!' He shouted at the man before him, but as Red Hood stood up he aimed his gun towards the Count, and under his helmet he smiled.

'The last thing you'll ever see.' Red Hood commented, and the entirety of the prison went quiet as the sound of multiple gunshots came from the Count's cell. Minutes later the prison staff barged through the locked down doors into the main prison area for males.

'Find the intruder!' The warden, Amanda Waller, shouted to the group of guards, causing them to scatter out around the prison and examine every cell.

'Boss, I found something!' A guard shouted to Waller, who looked to the man, and slowly made her way over to Count Vertigo's cell, 'and it ain't pretty.' He concluded and as Amanda turned into Vertigo's cell, she saw the dead body of Count Vertigo, bullet holes all over him. And written on the wall in his blood was two words.

'I'm back.' Bailey commented as he showed a holographic photo of the crime scene to his comrades.

Date: December 23  
Time: 10:45  
Location: Bludhaven

'And you're sure this was Red Hood?' Superboy questioned, looked to Bailey once more.

'Security footage caught a glimpse of him four minutes before Count Vertigo's death, and Batman did a full scan of the cell, finding gun residue only used in very specific hand guns. The same guns used by Red Hood.' He responded, showing technical readouts of the custom made guns that Batman had provided.

'These guns are cutting edge, weapons manufacturers would kill to get their hands on this.' Batgirl stated as she examined the schematics.

'I know, it took weeks just to track down the prototype schematics from Lexcorp.' Bailey said proudly as he examined the schematics for the umpteenth time.

'Okay, we know this guy is a murdering psychopath. But why, out of everyone in Belle Reve, did he kill Count Vertigo?' Zatanna asked the obvious question, examining the corpse of the Count.

'Maybe it's strategy. Targeting a member of Vlatava royalty could be a way of sending the family a threat, or the Queen herself.' Robin suggested to the group.

'Not likely. If that were the case he probably would've sent a clearer message.' Superboy countered his friend's suggestion. 'Besides if that were the case he would've used one bullet, Hood unloaded a whole round into Vertigo, that's a revenge kill.' He concluded.

'Nice detective work, Connor.' Bailey praised his friend's skills.

'I agree with Superboy, this wasn't strategic. This was vengeance.' Dick said as he scanned the image himself from the bed he was sitting on.

'But what is it that Vertigo did?' Robin questioned, and multiple things popped up in Dick's head. But one thing stood out most, one thing Vertigo took part in that made his blood boil. He played a part in Jason's murder.

'I'll start cross referencing any crimes Vertigo took part in that could have a connection to Red Hood.' Bailey stated as he began typing away into the base's computer.

'How's the leg?' Zatanna asked as she plopped down next to Dick, leaning back on her arms. Dick looked to his leg and smiled before turning back to her.

'I've been through worse.' Dick stated with his usual smirk.

'I know. I remember when Connor carried you into the cave with cuts and bruises all over you.' The magician said as she began recalling the memory. 'I thought I would lose you.' She concluded as her expression dropped.

'Well, I was pretty whelmed afterwards. But I'm glad you were there when I woke up.' He expressed, placing a hand on Zatanna's shoulder. She slowly lifted her head and their eyes met, putting a smile on her face.

(Flashback)

Zatanna sat in the medical bay of the cave, a sixteen year old Dick Grayson lied unconscious in the bed before her. She had barely moved from her position in days, eating food M'gann had been brining, going to the bathroom rarely, but she hadn't slept in days. She was too worried.

'Z, how're you holding up?' Aquagirl asked as she and Artemis walked over to their friend, worried for both their wellbeing.

'I'm okay, still a little shaken.' Zatanna admitted, looking down at her hands which were holding Dick's left hand.

'Any change in his condition?' Artemis asked as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder sympathetically. But Zatanna shook her head sadly.

'He…he…' She struggled to form words as tears welled up in her eyes and began streaking her cheeks. She let out quiet sobs, and Artemis walked in front of her and wrapped her in a hug.

'He'll wake up Z, Dick's too determined to stay away from you.' Artemis encouraged, but it didn't help the young girl's troubles.

' _Aqualad, Aquagirl, Artemis, Superboy and Rocket report for mission briefing effective immediately_.' Batman's voice called over the PA system.

'We need to go, but if you need anything just call M'gann.' Artemis explained, and Zatanna nodded in response, before the two girls left. Moments later, someone else walked into the room, but Zatanna didn't look up. She didn't want to take her eyes off Dick. She just assumed it was M'gann.

'He didn't deserve this.' A male voice stated, surprising the seventeen year old and bringing her to look up. Before her stood Jason Todd, the second Robin. 'Dick was like my big brother, I can't stand to see him like this. Especially not this close to his birthday.'

Zatanna looked in surprise before her attention drifted to her smart phone, it was 6pm on November 30th, the day before Dick's seventeenth birthday. But as she turned back around, Jason had disappeared, but the flowers in the vase next to Dick's bed had been replaced with brand new ones. Zatanna smiled slightly at the gesture, before her focus drifted back to Dick. 'Esaelp ekaw Pu.' She said quietly.

Hours passed by, and Zatanna had fallen asleep with her head at Dick's side. The time came to 3:30 am, and Dick began to stir in his sleep. Moments passed until Dick's eyes opened, his vision was blurry, but as it slowly adjusted he scanned his surroundings. And saw Zatanna.

'Z.' He said softly, his voice still lightly hoarse from his injuries. Zatanna slowly woke up and stared up at her friend.

'You're okay!' She shouted as she leaped onto him and pulled him into a hug.

'Ow! Still injured! Still injured!' Dick stated as he winced in pain, leading the magician to pull back.

'Sorry, I'm just glad to see you.' She expressed as she placed her hands on his shoulders.

'How long was I out for?' He questioned, and in response Zatanna looked over to her smartphone once more, where it showed the time and date.

'Happy birthday.' She expressed, and he smiled to her as best as he could. She slowly leaned in and lightly pulled them together, closing their eyes simultaneously.

(End flashback)

Batgirl calmly listened in on the memory Zatanna and Dick were speaking of together, and couldn't help but envy their happiness. She drifted her attention to Bailey, who was typing away at his computer station. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and regret, but she worked up enough of her courage to walk over to him.

'So…how're things with Karen?' She attempted to make small talk, but he didn't turn around from his typing and simply took a deep breath.

'Good, she's uh…adjusting to the new environment,' he explained as he completed typing, and swung around on his chair to face her, 'you know, moving universes and all.'

'Yeah, must've been hard. It's good she had someone like you to help.' Batgirl responded as she removed her mask and revealed herself as Barbara Gordon. 'She treats you well?'

'Yeah, and her known about all of this helps too. She knows I can't ignore it.' He explained, and Barbara crossed her arms and turned her head away.

'And you couldn't?' She questioned in a slightly lowered tone.

'Barb, I miss a few dates. I don't miss all of them, and I don't lie about them either.' He countered, referring to something Barbara had done in the past. 'I gave up the whole vigilante thing so I could keep my life and live it calmly, you should consider doing it too.' He suggested, before turning back to his computer to continue typing. Barbara went to respond, but decided not to as she put her mask back on.

'Oh you've got to be kidding me.' Bailey stated as he pulled u the local news so that everyone could see it. 'Look who just got to Bludhaven.' He said to the group, bringing all their attentions to the holograph being projected.

'As if we didn't have enough trouble to worry about already.' Superboy said angrily as they all stared at the frozen image, showing an image of one Lex Luthor in Bludhaven.

'That's not all of it.' Bailey added, as he reached over to his keyboard to press play.

'Mr. Luthor! What brings you to Bludhaven?' A reporter asked as he raced over to Luthor, and with a smirk that implied he was full of himself, Lex smugly answered.

'It has come to my understanding that the people of Bludhaven have almost lost hope because of this, murderer arriving in the city. I have come here to try and put a bit of faith back into this city.' Lex explained, and most of the group scoffed.

'Yeah right! He's only here because of the Light.' Robin assumed as he waved his hand at the screen.

'And I'd like to do this by reaching out a hand to the protector of this city, Nightwing. So, if he is watching this; please, don't be afraid to drop by.' Lex sent out his message to the vigilante. The team all turned to Dick for his response, and he took a deep breath.

'Well, he gave an open invitation. We'll drop by tonight.' He concluded, allowing the group to return their attention to the frozen screen in which Lex was smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey people! GLEVIRIC05602 here! Just a short update but hopefully these chapters will come out quicker because I just got a new laptop which is a lot better than my previous one. Anyway, as always please rate/review/follow and enjoy!**

Date: December 23, 2016  
Time: 22:11  
Location: Lexcorp. Bludhaven branch

Lex Luthor sat quietly at his desk, a small pile of paperwork placed in front of him. The room was empty other than himself, not even his personal bodyguard mercy was there with him as she usually was. As usual he was acting calm and cunning, expecting that the hero he had called out earlier in the day would show up at any moment.

'Mr. Luthor, you have a guest.' Luthor's personal assistant said through the commlinks established via the phone on his desk.

'Send them in, Natasha.' He requested, and without hesitation, the door swung open and a man wearing a white tuxedo stormed in. 'Oh, it's you.' He said in a disappointed manner as Roman Sionis, the Black Mask, stormed over to him and slammed his fists down on the desk.

'What the hell are you doin' here?! Bludhaven is my turf!' He demanded in an extremely pissed off tone. Lex took his time to get to his feet, and fixed up his suit.

'Yes, we understand that, Roman. However, this new threat, the Red Hood, has caused more than a few problems for the Light.' He explained in a sophisticated manner, although Black Mask remained unconvinced.

'What and the sidekick squad hasn't?! Go deal with them! I can deal with this guy.' He tried to convince Luthor, who smiled as he walked around to the other side of his desk.

'Roman, my old friend,' Lex said kindly as he placed a hand on the mob boss' shoulder, 'you and I have been friend since the start. I would never do anything to disgrace you. I swear.' He gave his word, and Black Mask listened intently. 'However, the Red Hood was a problem of the Light, or more specifically Ra's Al Ghul's, creation. Thus, it must be dealt with by us.' He attempted to convince his old ally. Mask took a moment to think over the explanation, before staring Luthor dead in the eye.

'You've got forty-eight hours. If you ain't outa my city by then, I'll kill you myself.' Mask stated his terms, before leaving the room and slamming the door on his way out.

'That sounded like it went well.' A female voice said jokingly, before the lights in the room went out in an instant. Luthor slowly turned around, and at his desk sat three individuals; Batgirl, Robin and Zatanna.

'In case you didn't get the memo, I asked for Nightwing. That's mostly the reason I came here.' Luthor commented with a raised eyebrow, questioning the presence of the heroes before him.

'I'm surprised you took time out of your busy schedule just to come to Bludhaven. After all you're still running for Supreme Secretary of the U.N.' Zatanna commented.

'I take time out for the trivial things.' Luthor lied with a smug grin.

'I've bypassed all security; the whole building is under our control.' Bailey spoke into the commlinks with a smirk of pride imprinted on his face.

'That was quick.' Superboy stated as he and Dick watched over the hacker's shoulder.

'Let's just say Lexcorp coding and I are old friends.' Bailey said cryptically, smiling as he typed away at his computer, using as majestically as a musician would a piano. 'Batgirl, I've locked all doors entering that room, no one's getting in or out any time soon.'

'Understood, Phoenix.' Batgirl mumbled into her commlink.

'We heard what you said to Mask, how is Red Hood your creation?' Robin questioned the millionaire as he walked over to a cabinet located at the other end of the room and began pouring a glass of whiskey.

'Red Hood was not the Light's creation. The problem of him, however, is.' He responded truthfully.

'I don't see the difference.' Zatanna stated her opinion on the matter, simultaneously crossing her arms.

'We did not create the Red Hood. We merely caused him.' He explained. The three eyed him lightly as he walked over to a TV display and activated it. 'He is a formerly deceased hero that Ra's Al Ghul attempted to resurrect in order to aid the light. However, the procedure went horribly wrong and the mind of the victim became unstable.'

'What hero?' Robin asked curiously, although Luthor sighed in response to the question.

'One from before your time, Robin.' He denied the question with the utmost disrespect towards the boy wonder. 'His identity holds no meaning. But he has been targeting specific members of the Light, and we do not see any relations between them.'

'And why should we care?' Batgirl questioned, knowing perfectly well that the Light and its allies were their enemy.

'Because Red Hood has killed innocent people in the process of tracking down these members.' He countered. 'In the past two months Red Hood has killed both Count Vertigo, and Devastation. Along with severely injuring the Riddler. Leaving dozens of bodies alongside them.'

'Civilians, or hired arms?' Batgirl questioned as her eyebrows scrunched up.

'Both but-' Luthor went to respond, but his attention was redirected when the sound of a rocket of some sort came into earshot, and as everyone looked towards the window, they saw an RPG heading right for them.

'Everyone get down!' Robin shouted as the rocket hit the window, causing most of the room to go up in an explosion. As the smoke slowly cleared away from the room, Batgirl and Zatanna laid unconscious on the floor, but they were alright. Whilst Robin stood at the very edge of the room, covering Luthor to protect him.

'You're truly a life saver.' He expressed as Robin stood up.

'If we were under different circumstances I wouldn't have but you have information we need. Now who launched that-' Robin began to theorise, but his thoughts were cut short when he was roundhouse kicked into the wall next to them. Luthor stood up straight, and looked around. His face never changing expression.

'So, you tracked me down.' Luthor stated, eyeing around the smoky room with caution.

'Wasn't too hard considering that you put yourself on TV.' A familiar male voice commented, although he didn't reveal myself.

'Tell me, do you enjoy being a copycat? After all your name stems from that of Joker's former identity, your hand guns are my technology and finally, this is the second time this year my office has been blown up by an RPG.' The CEO answered, still searching for his would-be attacker.

'Let's just say I'm a fan of theatrics.' The voice responded, although before Luthor could respond he felt a pair of hands grab his suit from behind and slam him against the wall just next to Robin. 'I'm only gonna say this once,' the attacker commented as the rest of the smoke cleared, and Luthor could see that his attacker was none other than the Red Hood, 'where is Queen Bee?!' He shouted angrily.

'Coms are jammed, I can't get through to them.' Bailey explained as he attempted multiple different frequencies of the coms channel they were using.

'I'm going in.' Superboy stated as he punched his hand into his fist.

'Not without me you're not.' Nightwing commented as he limped over, in his uniform.

'Uh uh, no way! You still have an injured leg! You won't stand a chance out there.' Bailey cancelled his friend's ideas for going to help.

'Bailey, we don't have a choice! Red Hood is like me and Batman, he prepares for everything. If Superboy goes alone and loses we're done for.' The vigilante explained, although Bailey seemed unconvinced.

'I'm with Dick, this could be trouble. But you _are_ still injured.' Superboy agreed with his friend, and pointed out the elephant in the room.

'Nothing a little exoskeleton prototype can't fix.' Nightwing answered as he pressed a button on his utility belt, causing blue lights on his leg to light up.

'Told you it'd come in handy.' Bailey said with a smile. 'But be careful out there, we don't need any more injuries.'

'What could go wrong?' Nightwing said optimistically, although before Bailey could respond he and Superboy raced out of the warehouse.

'Sphere!' Superboy shouted, and out of a nearby tool shed the alien vehicle launched out and began to roll towards them.

'Lexcorp tower! Boom us up there!' Superboy requested, and in an instant sphere opened a boom tube, one which was limited to a certain distance due to Sphere's incapability of producing them. The two heroes jumped through the dimensional gateway, and instantaneously arrived at the destroyed top floor of Lexcorp tower.

'Took you long enough!' Luthor shouted, catching the attention of the two. They both looked over to see Red Hood pinning Luthor to the wall, but as his attention drifted to them, he dropped the millionaire and drew out his guns.

'Now, we have a fight!' Red Hood commented with joy in his voice.

'I'll make this quick.' Superboy said, before he raced in on Red Hood, who stood completely still. The demi-kryptonian went to throw a punch, but Red Hood easily dodged it and planted something on his back.

'Say goodnight.' Red Hood said cockily, as the thing on Superboy's back exploded in a flash of red light, causing him to yell out in pain and fall flat onto the floor, unconscious.

'Red solar grenade, impressive.' Nightwing said with an admiring grin, causing Red Hood to turn back to him.

'Didn't I shoot you in the leg?' He questioned, but Nightwing smiled in response to the question and got ready to fight.

'Yup, I heal fast.' He joked cockily. The two quickly cut their words and Red Hood began to shoot at Nightwing, only for him to dodge out of the way behind Luthor's desk. 'Feel like laying without the toys?'

'Not really. I'd like to make this quick. I've got a CEO to interrogate.' Red Hood answered, turning around for a split second to make sure Luthor was still where he left him, but he was standing at the door, typing something into the keypad. 'Oh no you don't!' He shouted as he swivelled to his side and aimed one of his hand guns at Luthor.

'No chance!' Batgirl shouted as she threw a batarang at the mercenary's gun, knocking it off aim ever so slightly to the right just as the trigger was pulled, sending the bullet into Luthor's right shoulder. Red Hood looked back over to Batgirl, who was still lying on the ground injured.

'Persistent as always.' He said in a disappointed tone, and as he remained distracted Nightwing saw an opening, throwing his version of a Batarang at his opponent and knocking him straight in the helmet.

'Got it!' Luthor shouted as he finished what he was doing. The door to the room suddenly swung open and a large group of security soldiers swarmed into the room with their guns aimed at Red Hood.

'Z, wake up, we need an exit!' Batgirl whispered to Zatanna as she shook her friend to wake up.

'Fire!' Luthor shouted to his men, allowing all of them to fire their weapons on Red Hood. Although he quickly ducked down behind one of Luthor's tables. Batgirl continuously shook Zatanna as much as she could, but to no avail.

'Sorry about this.' She whispered, before pulling a small capsule out of her pocket, and placing it on the magician's side. There was a quick zap noise and Zatanna shot up from the sudden burst of pain.

'Ow! What?!' She questioned in anger.

'We need an escape, right now. Any ideas?' She asked in need. Zatanna took a moment to think about her spells, until one came to her mind.

'I've got one but in my current state it'll take a toll. But I can do it.' She responded, although Batgirl seemed unsure. 'Don't worry, it'll be alright.' She encouraged, and Batgirl nodded, knowing it would probably be their only way out with all the gunshots going off.

'Do it.' She requested, so Zatanna closed her eyes.

' _Tropelet su kcab ot yeliab_!' She chanted, and the heroes began to fade away one by one. First Batgirl, then Superboy, then Nightwing.

'You're not getting off that easy!' Red Hood shouted as he jumped out from his hiding place and aimed his gun at Robin, just as he began to disappear. He pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the vigilante in the side of his torso. But before anything else could be done, Zatanna vanished as well, returning all the heroes back to the warehouse. Red Hood groaned at the odds stacked against him, and looked around for a way out. Only seeing one

'Converge!' The leader of the security guards ordered to a part of the others, causing them to start circling around so that Red Hood could come into sight. Before they could get a clear shot, Red Hood threw a flash grenade and blinded most of the men. Giving him the edge he needed.

'Later!' He farewelled as he raced to the window, and jumped out. The guards all ran up to the window and looked out the side, although they saw nothing. No falling body, no grappling line, nothing.

'Find him.' Luthor ordered them calmly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey people! GLEVIRIC05602 here! Sorry bout the delay for this chapter guys, my Office 365 account was cut off for a brief period. But I have it back now, so I can continue my writing! Anyway, as always please rate/review/follow and enjoy!**

Date: December 24th 2016  
Time: 3:35  
Location: Bludhaven

Bailey stood beside an unconscious Tim Drake, stitching up the gunshot wound in his side. After he had successfully removed the bullet in a simple surgery. The team was quiet. They took a hit from Red Hood but not one that hit deep. Most of them were injured, but Barbara was still well enough to fight, and she wanted nothing more than to take Red Hood out for what he did to Tim.

'He'll be alright. Taking out the bullet was not an easy feat, but I've stitched him up. He should be alright in the next few days.' Bailey explained as he walked over to his chair and sat down, removing the blood-stained gloves he was wearing. Dick slowly got up and grabbed a crutch to support his injured leg.

'You did your best, Bailey. And I can't thank you enough.' He expressed to his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder. 'How's everyone else feeling?' Dick questioned as he walked over to his other friends.

'My head is still pounding. It feels like my concussion is getting worse.' Zatanna stated as she held one hand to her forehead, wiping away the sweat dripping down from it.

'My powers are still too damp. I'm certainly not bulletproof anymore.' Connor commented as he continuously clenched his fists together and apart. Batgirl stayed quiet for a minute, leaning against the wall with an aggravated look on her face.

'I'm fine. We need to locate Red Hood. Is there any way to track him?' Barbara asked quickly in a tone that suggested she was pissed off at an extreme rate.

'Barbara, it's been a long night. Let's leave this unti- '

'No. This Red Hood guy has to be taken down.' Barbara interrupted Zatanna, who stayed quiet after she had been cut off by her friend. 'Is there a way to track him?' She asked Bailey once more, but the glare he wore as he stared at her brought back too many bad memories. It was a combination of anger and betrayal.

'Theoretically I could reconfigure the Wayne satellite to search for the same fingerprint left from Red Hood's guns in Bludhaven, which should lead us right to him.' Bailey responded, his tone laced with frustration towards Barbara. 'But I just spent almost five hours tending to the four of you, I am not doing this now.' Bailey denied as he got to his feet and took a step towards Barbara.

'Bailey, we don't get breaks. This is the job.' Barbara said, her tone slightly elevated from the statement she had received.

'Not for me. Not anymore. I am not a vigilante and I am certainly not a superhero!' He shouted in frustration as the two stood mere centimetres apart, their eyes locked in pure frustration.

'Then why're you still here, Pennyworth?' She questioned him as their eyes darted at each other like needles.

'I don't know! And you know what?! I'm done with this. I'm going home.' He shouted as their eye contact broke, and he began walking away from the group.

'Bailey, wait- '

'Don't.' Bailey said coldly as he pushed the door open, and a few moments later the sound of the door slamming filled the air. After that there was a brisk silence between the group, they were all too shocked at what had just happened. Barbara moved away from the group, the anger building up inside herself like a bubble that needed to pop but wouldn't. Not yet.

'That went well.' Connor said sarcastically as he rubbed his shoulder. Bailey walked through the wintry night time of Bludhaven, alone with his hands in his pockets. He couldn't express how angry he was, but he certainly needed to calm down, or else he knew it reflect on the people he cared about most, and he would eventually snap at one of them. As he turned down the alleyway leading to the entrance to his apartment, darkness shrouded him. The only signs of light being the street lights at both ends of the alley, and the clear moon above their heads.

'Excuse me?' A shaky voice said from the shadows ahead, and Bailey stopped dead in his tracks. HE looked around for a moment, before a man walked out from the darkness. He was old and frail and seemingly homeless. 'C-Could you please spare some c-cash?' The man begged as his knees shook.

'Of course.' Bailey said generously as he pulled out his wallet and began searching for any cash he had on him. But as soon as he found the cash he needed, he felt a chain wrap around his neck as someone kicked the back on his legs, sending him down to his knees. Bailey instinctively tried to pull the chain away from his neck in an attempt to breath or at least say something, but the man behind him just kept pulling harder.

'Get off him!' The old man said as he tried to help Bailey, but as soon as he ran towards the two, Bailey saw him get pushed right back down to the ground. Bailey's face began to change colours from the lack of air in his lungs, but nevertheless he tried to talk.

'K-Ka-Kar-' Bailey tried to say but the chains around his neck kept him from doing anything of the sorts.

'What's that? I can't hear you.' A deep male voice said from behind him, lowering his guard for a moment and loosening the chain just enough for Bailey to get one word out. It was quiet, but effective.

'Karren-!' He said in something along the lines of a whisper, his voice sounded hoarse and quiet.

'Who's that? You're girl? I might pay her a visit, show her what a real man can do. Cos you obviously aren't one.' The man behind him threatened, and Bailey's rage skyrocketed further than he thought possible. He finally snapped, and kicked his legs back behind him, hitting the man's shins and causing to let out a yelp of pain. The chains dropped from his neck and he quickly did a forward roll, landing perfectly into a fighting position to see the man behind him. A thug.

'What…do you want?' Bailey asked as he panted heavily, still ready to fight.

'You're wallet.' The man stated as he picked up his chain, revealing to Bailey that he was nothing but an ordinary street thug.

'That's not going to happen.' A female voice commented from behind the man, and with a jolt of surprise he turned around, to see Karen standing in her dressing gown.

'You couldn't have gotten dressed?' Bailey questioned his girlfriend as she let out a yawn.

'Babe, it's four in the morning. Stop complaining.' Karen requested before she slapped the man who had tried to murder her boyfriend, and as her hand made contact he was launched into the brick wall located to her left. Knocking him out cold. 'Cops are on their way, I already called.'

'Great, you head home I'll be there in a few minutes.' Bailey said as he walked over to Karen, who was still half asleep.

'*Yawn* Okay.' She agreed as she planted a light kiss on his cheek, then began to float in mid-air. The old man laying on the ground stared in complete and utter shock as to what had just occurred before him, and as Bailey lowered down a hand to him he took it.

'You alright?' He questioned as he pulled the man up to his feet.

'Y-yes. Th-thank you.' The man expressed, and Bailey couldn't help but smile at the man. The police eventually arrived, and Bailey and the old man explained everything that happened, stating that it was Nightwing that took down the man and not Karen.

'Nightwing? He hasn't shown up in the past few days. Just his friends, glad to know he's got our backs.' One of the police officers commented as he took notes from the two.

'Alright you're both free to go, but if possible, I'd like you both to check into the station tomorrow at some point.' The police officer requested, leading both Bailey and the old man to nod in response. Bailey began making his way back to his apartment, but the old man stayed with the police to try and find a place to spend the night. As Bailey sat down on his bed he held his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes.

'You okay?' Karen asked as she walked in from the bathroom of the apartment. Bailey looked up at her for a moment, before he stood up and pulled her into his grasp. 'What's this for?' She questioned, half smiling as she wrapped her arms around him.

'You saved my life, this is me thanking you.' He lied, but she could tell that he wasn't giving her the whole story.

'Don't bullshit me, Bailey. What happened?' She requested as they sat down on the bed. Bailey sat there and thought for a moment about what he should say but concluded that he should just tell her.

'The team went in to see Luthor last night. Red Hood ambushed them, dampened Connor's powers, gave Z a concussion and shot Tim.' He explained in the simplest way he could think of, and Karen's expression was nothing short of troubled. 'I spent hours trying to help them all. Tim's unconscious but he'll be fine. I just feel so helpless. And then there's Barbara who thinks I can work every second of every day on being the guy in the chair.'

'Now I see why you two broke up. She does seem a bit,' Karen paused to find the right word that wouldn't sound too offensive, 'demanding.' She finished.

'That's the least of it. I gave up being…him, because I wanted out with the whole vigilante thing. But now that I have I feel more at work than ever.' He commented, referring to when he himself was a vigilante.

'Are you saying you think being a vigilante was better? You'd prefer to do that?' She questioned, leading him to question the statement he had said.

'I don't know. But I think it might just be better if I give it all up for good. Try having a normal life.' He suggested as he took the Kryptonian's hands into his own.

'Babe, our lives are anything but normal. I'm an alien fugitive from another dimension and your grandfather practically raised Batman. Normal isn't really an option for us.' She encouraged as their eyes locked, but an instant later he broke the contact. 'Hey,' She said as she cupped his face in her hands and pulled his attention back to her, 'what we have now is good. I won't blame you for leaving Nightwing. But without you he'll die in a few days.' She convinced him, and he couldn't help but smile as she looked him dead in the eye. Her blue eyes filled with care.

'My thoughts exactly.' A deep male voice commented, and they both saw a flash of red light come from the doorway of the room. Karen groaned as she felt a wave of weakness and fell back onto the bed, unconscious. Bailey got to his feet and got ready to fight as Red Hood stood before him, tossing a red solar grenade in his hands.

'What the hell are you doing here?' Bailey questioned as he slowly backed away from the supervillain standing before him.

'I'm here because I know who you are, Phoenix.' Red Hood stated as he took a few steps forward, unaware that Bailey had gone to a very specific wall in the apartment, he slipped a hand behind his back and placed his palm against an almost invisible scanner, and an instant later the wall opened and revealed a variety of hidden weapons that remained there.

'Bite me.' Bailey commented as he grabbed two throwing stars and launched them at Red Hood. He easily dodged and pulled out his guns, but Bailey easily got underneath Red Hood and hit him with an uppercut straight into his jaw. Red Hood groaned as he was knocked backwards for a second, and towards the giant window that took up the entire wall. Bailey grabbed another weapon from his stash and threw it at the invader. A small black ball, and as it went through the air it beeped.

'Shit.' Red Hood cursed, before a giant explosion went off from the apartment that launched Red Hood out the window. 'Not again!' He groaned as he pulled out a grappling hook and shot it at the building. Catching himself in mid-air. Bystanders below stared up in shock at the explosion that had gone off and the strange man hanging from the side of the building. Red Hood pressed a button on the grapple controls and it began to pull him up to the floor level that Bailey had lived on.

As he arrived he found the room burnt and on fire at small points, but everything was destroyed. Bailey and Karen were gone, and as was all of Bailey's vigilante gear.


End file.
